IRPT Upper Mississippi River Basin Meeting

By Dede Smith | July 23, 2020

IRPT Upper Mississippi River Basin Meeting

Join us for a webinar on Sep 1, 2020 at 10:00 AM CDT.

Please register here: Register now!

IRPT is a trade association for the nation’s inland waterway, port, and terminal professionals. Our mission is to provide a platform for inland river port and terminal professionals to improve their businesses and to inform policy makers on the needs and economic impacts of our industry.

This has been a difficult year for everyone and there is so much information we need to communicate with our Members, as well as give them an opportunity to help steer IRPT activities where they need them.

Over the past year, IRPT has added so many benefits to our Membership, including:

  • IRPT Mobile App:
  • Navigation notices;
  • Career opportunities;
  • News blasts and more.

Communication is key as you well know. And unfortunately with the increase in frequency of floods and other river related impacts (lock repairs, droughts, floods, etc.), it has become apparent that IRPT needs to fill the void in the communication structure. We have had a great six months of pushing app notifications so we would like to hear what’s working and what’s not.

  • Data inputs and outputs for our industry have been strengthened over the past year, thanks to IRPT’s MOU and continued work with the Army Corps. Where we have made some improvements, much more work needs to be done. For that, we would like to examine:
  • Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) online dashboard;
  • Waterborne Commerce Statistics Center port polygon and dock reconciliation work;
  • Army Corps MOU and path forward.

Closer Partnerships with Federal and State agencies who operate and maintain not only river related navigation, but landside infrastructure as well, are crucial. The data inputs and resulting outputs is what help drives decision making in Washington that can have both a positive and negative impact on our business.

Other topics we need to cover include:

  • Status of IRPT Bill and path forward;
  • CISA security assessment;
  • So much more.

We value our members and understand their perspective is key to the industry’s healthy growth.

 

Posted in Upper-Mississippi-Info